Was It A Mistake Too Far
by BywydMoethus
Summary: In 2010 Will Darcy was found out and it was a mistake that cost him dearly and no matter how much he tried to rectify the situation the only person he could ever love refused to accept his actions as anything less than malicious. Perhaps Lizzie was right, perhaps it was a mistake too far.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi all, well I suppose I should tell you a little of what I have planned for this story. The premise I've planned is that I will tell the story of Lizzie and Darcy from their meeting but it won't quite follow the book.**

**Please do tell me what you think**

**Millie**

* * *

_31st December, 2013_

Will Darcy had often been lost for words around Elizabeth Bennet but it wasn't often that he was unable to describe the feelings that overwhelmed him. He watched as she command the attention of the room, smiling at her sister he noticed the minute changes that had occurred in the three years since they had last been in the same room together. The years that had been entirely the result of his pride and the irritation he had felt for her on one day, if only he hadn't tried to intervene where he shouldn't – in the happiness of others especially in the heat of anger was unwise. The consequences of that one decision had cost him dearly and as he watched _his one love_ reach for the support of another he was reminded of the cost.

He was so absorbed in staring at him that he had missed most of Lizzie's speech it wasn't until Georgie whacked him in the ribs that he began to tune in.

"… _and my father would be affronted if I didn't include a literary quote in this speech. So, even though it has taken Jane and Bingley a couple of extra years to get here for one reason or another." _he knew from the moment that the words had left her tongue that the statement was aimed at him without her needing to look in his direction. _"John Steinbeck teaches us that you shouldn't worry about love because '[I]f it is, it happens – The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away'. And I suspect that for two as compatible as Jane and Charles, as two of life's few true optimists they were always destined to find each other again as 'To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with' – that's two quotes daddy!" _And he watched as she smiled to her sister and father before she continued _ "That's Mark Twain for those of you not brought up with a father whose Head of English at Queen's Uni, Belfast._

"_Well let's hear it for Jane and Charles. Here's to a joyful 2014 as you make life's ultimate commitment to each other I wish you all the happiness in the world as you both deserve nothing less. To Jane and Charles"_

He raised his glass and chimed with everyone else but his eyes were still trained on his ex as she smiled to the brunette she was now attached too. And he now knew the feeling that had overcome him, it was jealousy: pure, unadulterated jealousy and now as he stood four feet away from her he felt the feeling take control over his body and mind. And so as he finished with his compliments to Jane and Bingley he manoeuvred himself and his sister towards her.

"Elizabeth." He watched as her shocked features moved to face him and collapse.

"Will" she spoke with none of the love that one name had once held. "Georgie, how are you?" he watched as her face lit up as it reached her sister.

"I'm good Lizzie." Georgie replied quietly before retreating shyly behind him.

"Good, it's been a long time." And he watched as a small, sad smile played on her lips as she directed herself to his sister who just nodded in reply. "This is my partner Henry Tilney" she directed their attention to the brunette stood next to her as the conversation lulled. "Harry, this is Will and Georgie Darcy."

"Nice to meet you" Harry smiled to the brother and sister pair as he extended his hand which Will received coldly. Tall and very almost handsome his faced seemed to convey the same wit and intelligence that shone in Elizabeth's eyes and Will felt his heart drop lower as his mind envisioned Henry as the perfect partner for Lizzie.

"How did you meet?" he heard his sister pipe up and he watched as the couple both looked upon the other and heartily smiled to each other.

"Mutual friends." Lizzie replied first "We were both at a supper party and it just clicked."

"First girl in that I had meet in Luxembourg that could give as good as she gets with me" Henry added and Will felt the sudden need to be relieved of the company of the two as they smiled at each other but his sister had a sudden interest in the pair.

"You live in Luxembourg now?"

"Must be about eighteen months now." and he watched Lizzie's face turn full of warmth to his sister. "The bank offered me a great position and it seemed the right time to go."

Thankfully for Will his cousin saved him as Richard and his girlfriend who was also Lizzie's best friend Charlotte joined the pair. And soon the two women were talking about lost time and back home. And will slowly moved himself from the group through the kitchen where he grabbed one of the bottles of champagne that the carters had left on the side before he went through the patio doors and found himself a dark corner away from the two smokers who stood close to the warmth of the patio heater.

Sat on the cold brick with his back against the rough wood he popped open the bottle of Pol Roger as he contemplated the important moments within his relationship with Elizabeth Rosalind Beatrice Portia Bennet.

* * *

_30__th__ December, 2007_

The plane journey had been a disaster for Will Darcy from start to finish. First, Jane and Bingley had arrived late both sharing discreet looks as they made their way to the Heathrow express, then the plane had been delayed and to top it all off it had been the worst flight of his life. The destination wasn't any better; he had no idea how Charles had managed to persuade him to spend New Year's in Belfast.

Though it wasn't like he had much choice it was either just Georgie and himself watching _Jools Holland's Hootenanny _or join in on Jane's kind invitation to celebrate with her and Bingley as they joined her family. But as he stood in baggage claim he couldn't help but think that this weekend was going to be a wash out from start to finish and if he didn't need another metaphor he's bag was the last to come off the conveyor belt. As a result it was a while before they made their way through to the doors to find Jane's sister.

"Janey, Charlie" came the call as soon as they reached through to arrivals and the next thing Darcy saw was a young woman run into Jane's embrace. "I can't believe you abandoned me" he watched as the brunette removed herself from Jane's embrace before again launching herself on Charles, "there are murderers that get a more lenient punishment than I've had."

"Lizzie" he watched as Jane smiled "you mustn't."

"Trinity term broke up on the first. THE first of December." The brunette joked back before grabbing Jane's bag. "We better get out the way. Charlie how are you?" she spoke as she quickly manoeuvred them into a quite part of the airport.

"I am well Lizzie." Will watched Bingley reply as he stared at Jane.

"Of course I know that.' She laughed and suddenly Darcy found himself looking deeply at the tall, brunette.

Before today the only images he had seen of Jane's little sister had been on his visit to Bingley during his friend's first year at St. Andrews where he had noted Jane's noticeboard which was full of pictures from home and the only attribute he had noticed when he had once glanced was that brunette was the more confident of the two. That and as he later found out she was now in her final year at Teddy's Hall, Oxford. But now he noticed that she was rather pretty, with dark, intelligent eyes that seemed to sparkle. He was cut out of his thoughts as the sharp, Belfast accent cut through.

"Hi, I'm Lizzie." And suddenly he noticed that she was talking to him but suddenly he lost the ability to speak and Bingley had to intervene for him.

"Lizzie, this is my best friend Will and his little sister Georgie."

"Well hello." And he watched her smile at him before she moved to his sister "We better you guys back to house." And with that she took Georgiana's shoulder bag that had been resting on the floor and then lead them towards the car park. "I've packed in parked in the Short Stay so it isn't far. I'm in mammy's Land Rover by the way, so there should be plenty of room."

It wasn't long before that arrived into the car and she quickly unlocked the car before she ran across towards the ticket machine to pay and within five minutes they were on their way to Belfast.

"I don't know why you didn't just fly into Georgie Best. It's so much closer" Lizzie spoke up after they had sat in silence for a while.

"Darce wanted to fly from Heathrow" Bingley answered from the front seat, Will watched as she just nodded her head before sneaking a glance of him in the rear view mirror as her eyes looked bewildered.

"More of a Liverpool fan I suppose" she eventually replied which made Bingley snigger and Jane smile before she offered him an apologetic look. Will was reminded of his earlier thoughts as he examined the landscape outside the window, perhaps this weekend wouldn't be a wash out but he was pretty sure he was not going to enjoy it. And he suspected Lizzie Bennet might be the cause of his displeasure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, Thank You so much for the response! I was not expecting that :)**

**AmberS76 - Definitely but in my head Lizzie would make it a lot harder for Darcy to regain her trust. 21st Century Lizzie isn't a subaltern unlike her original eighteenth century counterpart, she doesn't need Darcy as much as she has a job and a voice. I hope that doesn't sound like a berk (sorry if it does)**

**Guest - I hope the list below helps, I think I've included everyone that was mentioned in either the first chapter of this one. Do ask if you want anymore info, I've created character pages that have way more info on them then I need in my drafts on Tumblr. I could post them and link them in here if you'd like?**

**Lizzie Bennet** – _21 years old (2007) **27 years old (2013)**_, 15th July 1986, studying PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at St Edmunds Hall, Oxford which is a three-year course. **Works for Barclays in Luxembourg**

**William Darcy** – _24 years old (2007) **30 years old (2013)**_, 12th November 1983, Management at London School of Economics (He had to come back from his gap year early after his parents were involved in a helicopter crash before taking another year out to help Georgie before swapping from PPE at Trinity College, Cambridge to LSE). Now works at the family insurance firm

**Jane Bennet** – _23 years old (2007) **29 years old (2013)**_, 8th August 1984, English Literature at St Andrews University (4 year course), now studying for a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education at King's College, London). **Teaches year 5 and 6 at a school in Peckham.**

**Charles Bingley** – _24 years old (2007) **30 years old (2013)**_, 19th December 1983, International Relations at St Andrews University (4 year course), spent his gap year playing cricket in Australia before going onto India, now works as a Risk Solutions Analyst at HSBC.

**Charlotte Lucas **– _21 years old (2007) **27 years old (2013)**, _23rd October 1986_, _History at Trinity College Dublin, is a four-year course. **Journalist at London Evening Standard**

**Richard Fitzwilliam **- _22 years old (2007) **28 years old**_** (2013)**, 5th September 1985, studied Maths at Edinburgh University. **Now a Captain in the Royal Engineers**

**Henry Tilney **- _**28 years old (2013)**_, 28th March 1985, studied Economics with French at Cardiff University, **Now works for the European Union in Luxembourg in Aid Development**

**Original Character - Damien Wallace **- 22 years old (2007), 16th April 1985, studies Medicine at Queen's University, Belfast

_**N.B. **to those from Britain (or anyone actually) the birthdate cut off points in Northern Ireland are different from England and Wales, by which I mean the date of birth that defines what age (and school year) you would start Primary School. _

_In England and Wales it's the 1__st__ of September. While in Northern Ireland it's the 1__st__ of July and Scotland the 28__th__ of February. This means that both Lizzie and Jane would've been in the year above had they followed the same education programme as Darcy and Bingley (even though both Darcy and Bingley attended Public (Private) schools and Jane and Lizzie both went to Grammar schools. I will eventually explain it all in the story. Its just one of the joys of having four different countries controlled by three devolved governments and one big old Parliament in London._

_Also university undergraduate degree courses in Scotland are four years long while in the rest of the UK its only 3 years (unless the degree involves a language in which case its 3 years studying in the UK and 1 year (after your second year at uni) studying and/or working abroad). In the Republic it depends what university you attend; at Trinity its fours year while at University College Dublin its 3 years._

* * *

_30__th__ December 2007_

Jane and Lizzie Bennet had always enjoyed growing up in Belfast, it was only when they had left for university that they truly understood how they were perceived by everyone else within the United Kingdom outside the six counties of Northern Ireland. While they had been born with the innate knowledge of how to know another's political allegiance they entered a world where ignorance of the situation in the province prevailed as there was little understanding of what life was really like.

That was where Will came from, his earliest memories of Belfast were the images he had seen on the news as a child. Soldiers, men in balaclavas and bombs. Theses images had left a distinct impression of him that he was reminded of during the drive from the airport, as he passed armoured police cars and political slogans written on walls. It was a surprise then as they turned into suburban Belfast and eventually into Bennet's drive.

The large suburban home with the Audi and the Volkswagen Polo already parked out front could've been in any other part of the country, and to Will it looked like an ideal home from the home counties banker belt.

As they all began to clamber out the car a woman in her late forties can running out. "Jane, Charles.", she was closely followed by a dishevelled older man of was the epitome of a English Literature lecturer.

'Mammy' 'Mrs Bennet' came the calls from both Jane and Bingley.

"I've told you its Fanny Charles!" Fanny Bennet exclaimed as she hugged Bingley "Mrs Bennet makes me sound like my mother-in-law and I don't think I quite like that." And with a smile she had moved onto Darcy "You must William". She eyed him before she moved onto his sister "and you're Georgiana. Well, welcome I'm Fanny and that old codger is Thom." Nodding to the older man than now stood behind his wife." Now in the house all of you its freezing out here."

Within seconds, they were all ushered into the Bennet's hall, modern but warm with the wall of the staircase crammed with framed photos but within seconds of them relieving themselves of the coats and bags and kicking off their shoes they were in the Bennet's large kitchen diner being offered an assortment of refreshments. A lunch of broth and soda bread was serve as the discussion was filled with Mr Bennet and Jane's younger sister discussing the supposed depressing defeat of Ulster against Leinster though Will himself was left out as the only Rugby teams he had any knowledge about was Harlequins and England.

* * *

Completely, full soon Georgie and himself were lead to their bedrooms for the weekend. His clean but small and was obviously the spare bedroom but Georgie seemed to have been given the younger Bennet's room. Entering he saw Georgie sat on the bed of the light blue room staring at the photos that occupied one wall room, as he roamed the wall he saw images of the brunette developed from a school girl into what he could only described as partier. Photos of her with her friends and sister in their navy school uniform sat alongside photos of her obviously enjoying Belfast's party scene.

He was so captivated for some unknown reason with the photos he had noticed Charles walk in.

"That was a good holiday."

"What?" Darcy turned to his friend before he followed he friend's eye line to a cluster of photos that showed sunnier climes that the home.

"My first holiday with Jane." Darcy back to his friend he saw a dreamy look come over his friend, pulling one of the photos off the wall Will finally took a good look at the photo. In it he would see Jane and Lizzie Piggy backing on Charles and tall light browned haired guy's backs. "We'd gone to Santa Ponsa with a couple of our friends from St Andrews and a couple of Damien's friends from Queen's. Cracking place, full of Irish and cheap Guinness."

Will thought back to that time, he had just finished finished his second (and unplanned) gap year and had insanely jealous of the freedom that Charles was enjoying.

"Whose that guy?" pointing to the other guy in the photo.

'Damien. Lizzie's then boyfriend" Bingley replied passing the photo down so Georgie could see. "I studies medicine at Queen's. They were dated since she was fifteen"

And with that Darcy mentally did the maths in his head, "So she was sixteen

when this was taken?"

"Seventeen I think."

"And her parents let her go? Seventeen and she was allowed to go off to a foreign country with her boyfriend." Darcy stared bewildered at his friend

"They'd exactly gone away the year before as well." And for a second he thought perhaps for once in their friendship Charles was judging him. "She had been seeing him for awhile. Anyway Franny and Thom are pretty liberal."

"Oh I can see that from the fact that they let their fifteen daughter date someone that was at least seventeen years old. They'd have been the first to complaining when it backfired." Turning to his younger, innocent sister he made clear that would not be happening while he was guardian. "I'm not sure I want my sister staying in a room with these photos up."

"She's not going to suddenly learn anything Darce. Stop being stupid. Anyway, I've come to ask you something." he quickly changed the subject "A couple of their friends are having a get together tonight because Jane's finally back and I was wondering I you want to come."

"I can't leave Georgie" can the reply seconds later and almost automatically out of Darcy's mouth. He hated social situations with strangers at the best of times never mind with a loud Irish who judging by the photos on the wall liked to drink hard.

"It'll only be for a couple of hours and anyway Jane's got cousins around the same age that don't live too far. Georgie could play with them."

"I'd really rather not. Stuck in the corner while you make out with Jane, I have enough of that when we're at the pub in London with _our friends._"

"You wouldn't be, Lizzie's going. You can stick with her. You'd have a lot in common she's studying PPE at St Edmunds."

"I don't think someone who is state educated and goes to a mid-range Oxford College can have a lot in common with an Etonian whose family have been going to Cambridge for generations. Anyway, you've got the pretty sister I really don't want to be stuck in some sort of Taming of the Shrew type thing."

Charles, who incidentally had never really paid much attention to English Literature, had let his friend's final comment pass with a nod and _'Alright'_ before he left the siblings to themselves. And Darcy thought nothing more of the conversation until he walked into the Bennet's front living room, after living Georgie to read, which was at point in time occupied by Lizzie who had taken over the coffee table with books, folders and her laptop.

"So you study PPE?" Darcy finally asked after they had sat in silence for more than ten minutes.

"Ye_p_" came the reply.

"I was supposed to study it at Trinity College, Cambridge."

'I suppose that's what you from an Etonian." Her reply this time was sent with a dirty look.

"Sorry, I don't quite know…" She soon cut him off from speaking.

"I mean what can a state school educated kid expect but ranks mid-way on the Norrington Table. Doesn't matter if she went to a grammar school, took the eleven-plus or actually followed her father to St Edmund's Hall. No the only people that should go to Oxbridge and have a legacy are of course to the upper class twits, because they've been so good to this country. That hegemonic masculinity that defined this country's life up until 1918 has so many shining examples of brilliance" Darcy befuddled at the situation that he now found himself was silently praying to who ever was up there to let the ground full in and swoon him up. Luckily for him it seemed that Lizzie Bennet was almost finished.

"Methody is actually one of the top state schools for getting students into Oxbridge. So shove that up pipe you Tory-boy snob." And with the she stormed out, passing a somewhat confused and embarrassed Jane and Bingley in the doorway.

* * *

_31__st__ December, 2013_

Though he hadn't felt like it then he couldn't help but smile at the memory of it now. He had of course known he was in the wrong but he was so ashamed of the fact that she had heard him words that he couldn't open his mouth to even attempt to form an apology.

Bingley smoothing the way for him and once again making up for his social faux pas' only saved him because as he would late find out Lizzie Bennet can hold a grudge for longer than friendly disposition would suggest. There was a darkness that lay behind the bright, intelligent eyes and his heart ached for her.

With another gulp of Champagne he thought back to that oh so terrible mistake and the colossal it had on his life so far. He sat soaking in his self pity for while as smokers came and went before Lizzie's new man Harry can walking out to light up. He couldn't quite believe it when he saw it, the arguments he had when he had attempt to indulge his boarding school habit of smoking replayed in his mind. He was almost certain that Lizzie must not have known until he saw her too step out and hug the man from behind. He had to watch as a smile played on his replacement's lips, a smile of contentment, but it was like a car crash in slow motion and he couldn't quite take his eyes away no matter the pain he caused him.

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the long author's note but a lot of the stuff is kinda confusing for me and I live in the UK.**

**Thank You much for the response!**

**Do let me know if you want me to link in the character profiles I've created.**

**Thanks again, **

**Millie :D**

**P.S. It's not letting me space the paragraphs like they are on my word doc (if anyone now how please tell me) so I apologise if it's a complete jumble. **


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